Former Olympic skier Graham, 50, revealed: “The best ones to coach are the ex-athletes. Rebecca and Linford will be good. And I’m really looking forward to working with Beth. Gymnasts make great skiers, generally. They know exactly what all their limbs are doing.”

They are joined from the world of pop music by Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding, 34, and Westlife’s Brian McFadden, 35.

Making up the cast are socialite Tamara Beckwith, 45, TOWIE’s James “Arg” Argent, 28, and Made In Chelsea’s Mark Francis, 26.

Graham, who co-hosts the Channel 4 show, which starts on January 26, with Davina McCall, added: “The contestants most likely to fail are those who prop up the bar.

“My toughest students last year were Dom Parker (Gogglebox) and Tuffers (cricketer Phil Tufnell). They were great at the apres ski – they would have won a gold at that.”

This year, the contestants will live in a house together for the first time. Graham believes it could spark more romances like X Factor finalist Stacey Solomon, 26, and Jackass star Steve-O, 41, had last year.